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September 13, 2008

The Writing On The Wall

Each night before bed I make my sweep through the house picking up toys, finding remnants of a craft project I didn't know had been cut and glued and taped, and more Legos than you can imagine. It's an effort made many times throughout the day to keep most of the house tidy and neat and less like a thousand children live here.

Whether it's the kitchen, bathroom, or hallway closet, they leave their mark in every corner and under every cushion in the form of small clans of dinosaurs and light sabers and more Legos. And when they can't find pretty much any given thing, they ask Mommy and I always know where it is.

Tonight, most of the downstairs is free of child-like things. In the morning, that all changes, but for now, it's almost picture perfect with pillows straight and dining table clean and a clear pathway on the floor. But glance at my walls and my stomach drops just a little, embarrassed that we've yet to pick up more Magic Erasers or finally paint with something that removes crayon and pencil and whatever that brown stuff is a little better. The red line from the top of the stairs all the way down to the entry way when Noah was making a "map." The teeny tiny signatures and stray letters of the alphabet scrawled randomly here and there.No matter if I were to remove all crayons and markers and pencils in this entire house, there would still be writing on the wall. They have a hidden stash, I'm sure of it.

Someday their talent for hieroglyphics will fade as I catch up with my Magic Erasing and it will long be a memory, the days I was sadly ashamed of the imperfectness.

Children do live here. Little people that I love more than a clean room and uncluttered corner. As much as the noise and the trails they leave behind can- at times- dance on my last nerve, I wouldn't want to even imagine these walls without them.

38 comments:

Magic Erasers what would we do without them? When I first learned to write I decided that it would be fun to make my mark on the wall. I thought I would be slick and write my brother's name but my mom new immediatly. I guess that is what happens when your little bro is only 1!

That was a beautiful post and so true. Right now we may not have a beautifully decorated, neat and tidy or clean home, but we know why! We are raising our kids! I also do a sweep of the house before heading to bed. Its so nice to wake up and be able to make it from room to room and to be able to enjoy the toy-free zone for a few minutes... mine lasts a minute or two, but ya know?! One day we'll miss those toys!

I love when kids use their NAMES as their graffitti--as though you aren't going to be able to guess who it was! My older kids, who definitely know they aren't supposed to be writing on the walls, still can't resist the urge to leave their mark once in a while--so I find their names written in itty bitty letters you can barely see in little nooks and crannies of the house. I remember carving my name into the underside of my mom's antique desk when I was about 9. Must be something about human nature that we want to say "I was here."

So sweet. In our house, all writing utensils are to stay in the kitchen and the kids pretty much adhere to that rule. We don't get much writing on our walls- plenty of fingerprints and toy scrapes, though. This reminds me of the time my oldest drew down the hallway with a popsicle. :o)

I do the same each day, and get help when possible :) I have a steamer that gets most of the marks off the walls. . . when I can get to them! I try to contain writing utensils - but they are so sneaky!

We are trying to figure out what removes pen from wall paint and wallpaper as we are putting our house up for sale. I never realized there were so many drawings on my walls before now. ;)What are these magic erasers???

But the white walls? Their days are numbered...I'll be showing up with paint some time in the winter. It will be fun. Promise. And we'll create a nice clean (NON-WHITE) canvas for the wall scribbling to begin again.

Steph-I love how you can appreciate the things kids do. We are just starting to experience 'artwork' here in our house (again!). Even Mariah has gotten in on the act, which I see as a positive sign that we are seeing some sort of recovery. My husband tried cleaning it all up in preparation for a party we had here. I started crying, begging & pleading to just leave it be. I need those markings on my walls, floors and doors. I feel like a part of me was being erased when he got out the Magic Eraser! Our homes shoud reflect the fact that we have kids in them, and our kids should know how very much they are loved...so for now I have rainbows of color where once there was none, and I would not have it any other way!Cris :o)

I think it's the teacher in me that just loves to see the beginning stages of writing, and those great childlike drawings of their view of the world. I can be nostalgic about it, because those days are long gone for me. I don't have to deal with the writing on the walls anymore, it's more like the doodling on the skin. What is it with tweens and young teens, and their need to write on themselves with ink? Permanment or otherwise??

I always say my house is a bit of a mess because my children are well loved. I am glad I am not the only mom with writing on my walls and legos (or nerf darts in our case) hidden in every corner of my house. Someday I will clean it all up.

I never had a problem with my oldest coloring in or on things she shouldn't. Well, not a big problem. But the baby loves to color on whatever he sees that looks too bland. Magic Erasers really are magic!

Some of the best surprises that my sister has had since Hannah died were finding those bits of artwork that were furtively created on the walls of their house behind furniture or in closets where she didn't think they would be spotted. They would have been erased or painted over then but now they are left there, sweet memories of a precious little girl.

Flitzy Phoebie (linked on my blogroll) had five children and she finally gave up and gave them a designated wall to create on. I think I am going to do the same in my house! How fun. :-)

Just the other day I saw writing on an antique bench in my son's room and I said what was "this"!? to which he replied, "it was an accident mommy"! the accident was a smiley face....someday we are going to miss this! Cute post! :-)